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Piggy In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

Decent Essays

There are situations in each novel that turn out to be quite ironic which shows exactly how human instinct surpassses the morals of modern society. In Lord of the Flies, one of the main characters named Piggy was the boys' best chance of getting rescued or at least surviving in a civilized way; however, the other boys chose to ignore his intelligence, thus diminishing their chances of being rescued off the island. “Piggy was… so full of pride in his contribution to the good of society… he helped to fetch wood. (118). Piggy is extremely organized and intelligent considering he even suggests building a clock and respects the rules of order. He even has the “...martyred expression of a parent who has to keep up with the senseless ebullience of …show more content…

Ironically, Piggy’s suggestions - that could have saved them - are the least listened to and most ridiculed because of his appearance. However, by listening to his insightful tips, the boys may have been rescued much earlier and they would maybe not have turned against each other as they became uncivilized. This shows how even if Piggy knew the right thing to do, human nature is inherently short sighted, close-minded and even proves to be self-destructive as the others do not listen to him. Golding is showing how humans would rather go as far as humiliating somebody then use the help that person has to offer, which could benefit the entire group. With the help of dramatic irony, Golding shows just how cruel innate human evil can really be. In Huck Finn, it is ironic that Huck would rather live uncivilized but he is trapped in a civilized world. Huck feels like he should be able to do his own thing and not what is necessarily “right”. However, Huck just being a kid, would be shunned if he did not obey the rules society had …show more content…

In Lord of the Flies, the beast is a common symbol used by Golding that stands for the instinct of savagery which lies within every single human being. As the boys grow more savage, their belief in the beast grows stronger. By the end of the novel, the boys are treating it as practically a god. The boys behavior is what brings the beast into existence, so the more savagely the boys act, the more real the beast seems to become. “You can’t have an ordinary bunt because the beast doesn't leave tracks.” (Golding 110). This is a symbol that represents humans in real life so obviously there are no tracks left behind. Human nature itself is a beast; therefore, therefore it is only in spirit. Everyone has an instinct of innate human evil even if they are afraid to admit it. The “beast” is in everyone because human nature really does overpower society’s morals. For example, in society, a person can only follow the rules to a certain extent until human nature takes its toll on the decision making of any person. In Huck Finn, a major symbol used in the novel would be the river that symbolizes freedom. Huck and Jim knew that if they wanted to follow their hearts and be free from society that they had to escape. Both Huck and Jim fight for their freedom because they know that the morals of society aren't always right. That being said, they

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